Cord holder

ABSTRACT

A cord holder having a rigid annular member adapted to be attached to the casing of an electric appliance and a deformable insulation hollow insulation member fitted in the annular member. The hollow member includes a plurality of sections having different diameters for receiving electric cords having different diameters and provided with integral tightening pieces surrounding the outer periphery of said sections and adapted to receive tightening bolts.

United States Patent Inventor Tadao Totsuka 9, 35, Z-Chome JohokuHamamat-su, Shizuoka-ken, Japan Appl. No. 820,503 Filed Apr. 30, 1969Patented Sept. 28, 1971 Priority July 26, 1968 Japan 43/63547 CORDHOLDER 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 174/65 R, 339/103 C, 174/135 Int. Cl H0lr 13/58 Field ofSearch..339/103-107,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,456,178 5/1923 Crockett339/103 X 2,708,714 5/1955 Stevens, Jr. 339/101 X 2,978,533 4/1961Colbert 174/93 FOREIGN PATENTS 18,375 9/1905 Great Britain 285/177Primary ExaminerRichard E. Moore Attorney-Irving M. Weiner corn) HOLDERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For the protection of an electric cord atand/or in the vicinity of an opening in an electric appliance and thelike where the cord is pulled out of the appliance a rubber ring hasbeen inserted in the appliance opening and the cord has been pulled outof the appliance through the ring. Alternatively, a metallic connectorhas been fixedly attached to the appliance at and/or in the vicinity ofthe opening. However, the conventional rubber ring for the purpose hasthe disadvantage that it is frequently difficult to be satisfactorilyattached to the electric appliance and comes off the appliance while theelectric cord is being manipulated in an operation. Such a rubber ringfrequently fails to serve its intended purpose, such as the protectionof the electric cord from any possible damage which may be inflicted onthe cord because of its frictional contact with a part of the appliancebeing employed. And the conventional metallic connector also has thegrave disadvantage that it has a rather complicated construction and arather heavy weight because of the metal of which the connector isformed. Furthermore, each of the conventional rubber ring and metallicconnector can be employed for an electric cord having only a specificpredetermined diameter. Accordingly, different types or diameters ofrubber rings and metallic connectors have to be provided for electriccords having different diameters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a cord holderwhich can be employed for electric cords having various differentdiameters and which can effectively protect a portion of an electriccord at and/or in the vicinity of an opening of an electric applianceand the like through which the cord emerges from the appliance. The cordmay be protected from any possible damage which may otherwise beinflicted on the outer surface of the cord as a result of its frictionalcontact with the opening when the cord is pulled out of the applianceand/or manipulated in an operation.

The present invention provides a novel and improved cord holder whichcan effectively eliminate the disadvantages inherent in the conventionalcord holders.

The present invention provides a novel and improved cord holder whichcomprises relatively small number of component parts and, accordingly,is simple and compact in design.

The present invention provides a novel and improved cord holder whichcan be economically constructed and, accordingly, is less expensive.

The present invention provides a novel and improved cord holder whichcan be made adaptable for holding electric cords having various thediameters by simply cutting off a portion of one component part of theholder.

The present invention provides a novel and improved cord holder whichcan accommodate the flexing movement of an electric cord as the cord ismanipulated in an operation thereby to protect the cord from any damagewhich may be otherwise inflicted on the cord as the same flexes in use.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cord holdercomprising a rigid annular member provided with means adapted to beattached to the casing of an electric appliance and the like and adeformable insulation hollow member tightly fitted in said annularmember and having a stepped taper configuration portion which comprisesa plurality of sections having different diameters for selectivelyreceiving and holding electric cord having different diameter rangestherein, said plurality of sections being provided with integraltightening pieces surrounding them and receiving tightening bolts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings show onepreferred form of cord holder constructed in accordance with the presentinvention for illustration purpose only, but not for limiting the scopeof the invention wherein:

FIG. lis a side elevational view in partial section of said cord holdertakep along substantially the longitudinal axis thereof;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of said cord holder;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along substantially the line A-AofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a reduced scale which shows when said cordholder is attached to a switch for protecting an electric cord whichextends from the switch.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention will be nowdescribed referring to the accompanying drawings in which one preferredform of cord holder according to the present invention is illustrated.The cord holder generally comprises a rigid annular member 1 formed ofmetal or a hard synthetic resin and having a threaded portion 2 on theouter periphery at one end of the member adapted to be threaded into amating threaded opening (not shown) of an electric appliance S (see FIG.4) and a deformable insulationhollow member 4 formed of rubber and thelike material and having an annular recess 5 on the outer peripherywhich fits in the center opening 3 of the annular member 1 and extends adistance between the opposite ends of the member 4. The diameter of theother or nonthreaded portion or end of the outer periphery of theannular member I is smaller than that of the threaded portion 2 and thenonthreaded end includes an intermediate diameter first section 6'adjacent to the threaded portion 2 at the inner end of the latter, alargest diameter section 6" adjacent to the end of the intermediatediameter section 6' remote from the threaded portion 2 and a smallestdiameter section 6" adjacent to the end of the largest diameter section6" remote from the intermediate diameter section 6 where one or theinner end of the recess 5 terminates. The deformable insulation hollowmember 4 has an abutment 7 at one end (the left end as seen in FIG. 1)at the inner end face of which the other end of the annular recess 5terminates and against which the adjacent end of threaded portion 2 ofthe annular member 1 abuts. The deformable insulation hollow member 4 isin a tubular form and is further provided with an annular flanged orlargest diameter portion disposed peripherally spaced out of the annularrecess 5 covering a distance between the opposite ends of the recess andhaving an inner annular recess 8' for snugly receiving the largestdiameter section 6" of the annular member 1 and an outer annular recess8" in diametric opposition to the inner annular recess 8' for snuglyreceiving an annular tightening member 20 which firmly holds the hollowmember flanged portion 8 against the annular member I. The rest portionof the portion adjacent to the end of the flanged portion 8 remote fromthe abutment 7 has a particular tape red configuration with a pluralityof stepped sections 9, 10, II and 12 which have gradually reduceddiameters in the order stated, i.e., the first section 9 has the largestouter and inner diameters, and the fourth section 12 has the smallestouter and inner diameters. The first section 9 has a frustoconicalconfiguration. The above-mentioned one end of the annular recess 5extends into the frustoconical first section 9. The above-mentionedsmallest diameter section 6" of the nonthreaded portion of the annularmember 1 is fitted in the frustoconical first section 9. The secondsection I0 has an outer diameter smaller than that of the first section9. The inner periphery of the second section 10 includes a portionhaving the same inner diameter as that of the first section 9 and anoutwardly tapered portion. Similarly, the outer diameter of the thirdsection 11 is smaller than that of the second section 10, and the innerperiphery of the third section 11 includes a portion having a constantinner diameter smaller than that of the second section 10 and anoutwardly tapered portion. The fourth section 12 has outer and innerdiameters smaller than those of the third section 11. The second, thirdand fourth sections 1.0, 11 and 12 have U-shaped tightening pieces l3,l4 and I5 integrally formed therewith, respectively, and these U-shapedtightening pieces surround the associated sections 10, 11 and 12respectively. The opposite legs 13' of the Uhaped tightening piece 13have aligned bores 16 for receiving a tightening bolt 17. Similarly, theopposite legs 14 and l$-of the U-shaped tightening pieces 14 and 15respectively, are also provided with aligned bores 18 and 19,respectively, for receiving tightening bolts 17, respectively (the boltsfor the tightening pieces 14 and 15 are not shown). After having beeninserted through the aligned bores 16 in the opposite legs 13' of thetightening piece 13, a nut 17' is threaded on the threaded end of thebolt 17 and the bolt is tightened, thereby to tighten the associatedsecond section against an electric cord 25 in the manner as will bementioned hereinafter. Although not shown, similarly, the bolts 17inserted in the bores 18 and 19 in the opposite legs 14' and of the U-shaped tightening pieces 14 and 15 are tightened by nuts (not shown)threaded thereon, thereby to tighten the respectively associatedsections 11 and 12 against the electric cord in the same manner as inthe case of the second section 10.

In use, in the first place, the annular member 1 of the electric cordholder by the present invention is attached to the switchbox S of anelectric appliance, for example, by means of the threaded portion 2 onthe outer periphery of the annular member 1 and a mating threadedopening (not shown) provided in the switchbox S through which an exposedportion of the electric cord 25 extends. Thus, the extension of theelectric cord 25 is passed through the deformable insulation hollowmember 4. As mentioned above, the novel cord holder is adapted toreceive electric cords having different diameters. if the electric cord25 has a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the smallestdiameter fourth section 12, but smaller than the inner diameter of theadjacent third section 11, for example, the smallest diameter section 12is cut off together with the associated tightening piece 15, by anyconventional cutting means (not shown), so the cord 25 may be passedthrough the remaining portion of the deformable insulation hollow member4. Thereafter, the bolt 17 extending through the bores 18 in the legs 14of the third section 11 is tightened, thereby to tighten the thirdsection against the cord to firmly hold the cord 25 in position.Similarly, if the diameter of the cord 25 is larger than the innerdiameter of the third section 1 l, but smaller than that of the secondsection 10, the third section 11 is cut off together with the associatedtightening piece 14, by conventional cutting means, so the cord 25 maybe passed through the remaining portion of the hollow member 4 with thefourth and third sections and their associated tightening pieces removedtherefrom. Thereafter, the bolt 17 extending through the aligned bores16 in the legs 13' of the second section 10 is tightened, thereby totighten the second section 10 against the cord 25 to hold the cord inposition.

Although only four different diameter sections 9, l0, l1 and 14 areprovided in the illustrated embodiment, it will be understood that thenumber of such sections may be increased or decreased as desired.

Thus, it will be understood that the novel cord holder can beconveniently and selectively employed for electric cords havingdifferent diameters. In addition, the novel cord holder serves toeffectively protect the electric cord at and/or in the vicinity of theopening of the switchbox of an electric appliance where the cord emergesfrom the switchbox against possible damage as a result of its frictionalcontact with the adjacent part of the appliance in use. Even if theelectric cord 25 flexes, the insulation hollow member 4 can also flex ordeform in response to the flexing movement of the cord by virtue of theflexibility of the material of which the hollow member 4 is formed,whereby the cord may satisfactorily sustain any stress which may beapplied thereon when the cord is pulled out with a substantially greatforce without being damaged.

What is claimed is:

l. A cord holder comprising in combination:

a rigid annular member provided with means adapted to be attached to thecasing of an electric appliance' a deformable insulation hollow membertightly fitted in said annular member and at one end having a steppedtaper configuration portion;

said stepped taper configuration portion including a plurality ofsections having different inner diameters for selectively receiving andholding therein electric cords having different diameter ranges; and

said plurality of sections being provided ,with integral tighteningpieces surrounding them and receiving tightening bolts.

2. A cord holder as set forth in claim 1 in which said means adapted tobe attached to the casing of said electric appliance comprises threadsprovided on the outer periphery of said annular member at one end of thelatter.

3. A cord holder as set forth in claim 1, in which said deformableinsulation hollow member has a tubular configuration and is furtherprovided with an integral abutment at one end adapted to abut againstthe adjacent end of said annular member, an integral flanged portionpositioned between the opposite ends of the hollow member, and anintegral frustoconical portion continuous to said flanged portion at theend of the flanged portion remote from said abutment, said abutment andflanged portion defining an annular recess therebetween for receivingsaid annular member.

4. A cord holder as set forth in claim 3, in which said stepped taperconfiguration portion of the deformable insulation hollow member iscontinuous to said frustoconical portion at the end of the frustoconicalremote from said flanged portion and gradually reduces its diameter fromthe end of the frustoconical portion remote from the flanged portiontoward said one end of the deformable insulation hollow member with thesection adjacent to said frustoconical portion having the largestdiameter and the section at said one end of the hollow member having thesmallest diameter.

5. A cord holder as set forth in claim 1, in which each of said sectionsof the stepped taper configuration portion has substantially a U-shapedtightening piece including two opposite legs provided with aligned boresfor receiving said tightening bolts.

6. A cord holder as set forth in claim 1, in which said stepped taperconfiguration portion of the deformable hollow member is so arrangedthat the largest diameter section is positioned at the innermost end,and the smallest diameter section is positioned at the outermost end.

7. A cord holder as set forth in claims 3, in which said means adaptedto be attached to the casing of said electric appliance comprisesthreads provided on the outer periphery of said annular member at oneend of the latter.

8. A cord holder as set forth in claim 7, in which said stepped taperconfiguration portion of the deformable insulation hollow member iscontinuous to said frustoconical portion at the end of the frustoconicalremote from said flanged portion and gradually reduces its diameter fromthe end of the frustoconical portion remote from the flanged portiontoward said one end of the deformable insulation hollow member with thesection adjacent to said frustoconical portion having the largestdiameter and the section at said one end of the hollow

1. A cord holder comprising in combination: a rigid annular memberprovided with means adapted to be attached to the casing of an electricappliance; a deformable insulation hollow member tightly fitted in saidannular member and at one end having a stepped taper configurationportion; said stepped taper configuration portion including a pluralityof sections having different inner diameters for selectively receivingand holding therein electric cords having different diameter ranges; andsaid plurality of sections being provided with integral tighteningpieces surrounding them and receiving tightening bolts.
 2. A cord holderas set forth in claim 1, in which said means adapted to be attached tothe casing of said electric appliance comprises threads provided on theouter periphery of said annular member at one end of the latter.
 3. Acord holder as set forth in claim 1, in which said deformable insulationhollow member has a tubular configuration and is further provided withan integral abutment at one end adapted to abut against the adjacent endof said annular member, an integral flanged portion positioned betweenthe opposite ends of the hollow member, and an integral frustoconicalportion continuous to said flanged portion at the end of the flangedportion remote from said abutment, said abutment and flanged portiondefining an annular recess therebetween for receiving said annularmember.
 4. A cord holder as set forth in claim 3, in which said steppedtaper configuration portion of the deformable insulation hollow memberis continuous to said frustoconical portion at the end of thefrustoconical remote from said flanged portion and gradually reduces itsdiameter from the end of the frustoconical portion remote from theflanged portion toward said one end of the deformable insulation hollowmember with the section adjacent to said frustoconical portion havingthe largest diameter and the section at said one end of the hollowmember having the smallest diameter.
 5. A cord holder as set forth inclaim 1, in which each of said sections of the stepped taperconfiguration portion has substantially a U-shaped tightening pieceincluding two opposite legs provided with aligned bores for receivingsaid tightening bolts.
 6. A cord holder as set forth in claim 1, inwhich said stepped taper configuration portion of the deformable hollowmember is so arranged that the largest diameter section is positioned atthe innermost end, and the smallest diameter section is positioned atthe outermost end.
 7. A cord holder as set forth in claim 3, in whichsaid means adapted to be attached to the casing of said electricappliance compriseS threads provided on the outer periphery of saidannular member at one end of the latter.
 8. A cord holder as set forthin claim 7, in which said stepped taper configuration portion of thedeformable insulation hollow member is continuous to said frustoconicalportion at the end of the frustoconical remote from said flanged portionand gradually reduces its diameter from the end of the frustoconicalportion remote from the flanged portion toward said one end of thedeformable insulation hollow member with the section adjacent to saidfrustoconical portion having the largest diameter and the section atsaid one end of the hollow member having the smallest diameter.
 9. Acord holder as set forth in claim 2, in which each of said sections ofthe stepped taper configuration portion has substantially a U-shapedtightening piece including two opposite legs provided with aligned boresfor receiving said tightening bolts.
 10. A cord holder as set forth inclaim 2, in which said stepped taper configuration portion of thedeformable hollow member is so arranged that the largest diametersection is positioned at the innermost end, and the smallest diametersection is positioned at the outermost end.